as to the comment i made about the most dangerous foreign policy decision since vietnam was about not just the surge but the overall war of choice going into iraq. >> i think history has already made a judgment about the surge, sir, and you're on the wrong side of it. >> senator shaheen, i don't know what to make of that. it looked like badgering the witness. i mean, it was mccain with some vendetta against this guy. it looked personal. and i don't know what it had to do with his qualifications, his abilities, to simply pound away trying to get him to agree with john mccain on something mccain believes in. >> well, this was the longest hearing for a nominee that i have ever attended in my years here. i thought senator hagel answered as forthrightly as he could all the tough questions that were in front of him. i would hope we could all be respectful and be willing to give the witness an opportunity to answer when there are serious questions. i was pleased to hear senator hagel. i didn't ask him about the surge in iraq. i wasn't there for that interchange, but i was pleased to have him